Savouring the wondrous, uplifting experience of a club title

Kieran Shannon reflects on Ballyea’s finest hour...

Tue, 01 Nov, 2016 - 00:00

Kieran Shannon is an award-winning sportswriter renowned for big interviews, insightful columns and an unrelenting focus on high‑performance sport.

‘One of the greatest strengths of the GAA is that it can make ordinary places extraordinary. If you’d passed through Killeagh any other week of the year, it wouldn’t have looked any different from 100 other hamlets. But the achievements of Landers and Deane mean that, from now on, whenever Killeagh is mentioned, GAA fans will nod their heads knowingly and say ‘Ah yeah, Joe Deane and Mark Landers’ homeplace.’ ... Hurling and football keep the one-horse towns alive, practically give them a reason to be.’

Eamonn Sweeney, The Road to Croker (2004)